Startups in Greater Frankfurt/Rhine-Main-Area Raised in H1 2022 more Funding Than in All of 2021
Startups in the greater Rhine-Main-Area have raised in H1 2022 more funding, than in all of 2021! So far we have tracked 28 deals worth 470+ m Euros ( ~ 480 m US$, ~460 m CHF). We also found 20 investments over 2020 and 2021 the state of Hessen made as corona aid investments valued at 8,8 m € in companies we classified as startups.
Large Deals Drive Overall Volume
The good news is that large deals drive the investments overall. We had an equal distribution of deals we tracked 14 deals in Q1 worth 393 m Euros and 14 deals in Q2 worth 77,8 m Euros. As so often some of the deals included in our statistics are not public knowledge.
We are not sure yet if the worsening funding environment is already shown in Q2 since we have seen Q2 performing even worse. Looking at the current numbers the area is still on track for a normal fundraising year. Q3 is traditionally low activity, but Q4 should bring a few larger deals. We are aware of several fundraisings going on right now.
Significant Deals
Some large deals drove the overall volume. We just wanted to highlight some here:
Q1 2022
- Operations 1 with 11,1 m Euros (https://buff.ly/330D7XU)
- Hy2Gen with 200 m Euros (the World’s largest private investment in green hydrogen) (https://hy2gen.com/200mio-investment/)
- Cansativa with 13 m Euros (https://buff.ly/3rOwQYS) the investors include Snoop Dog
- You can learn more here:
- And the deal-making Volocopter a unicorn with 150 m Euros. You can learn more here:
Q2 2022
- Tvarit with 2,8 m Euros (https://buff.ly/3BOZy0W) Learn more here:
- Wingcopter with 40 m Euros (https://buff.ly/3oVCcPE). Learn more here:
- Enviria with 22,5 m Euros (https://buff.ly/3OIgsBH)
- Compredict with 5,5 m Euros (https://buff.ly/3zYXd2w). Learn more here:
Invitation to the Venture Capital Forum (VCF)
In 2022, we want to be an accelerator for financing in Frankfurt-Rhein-Main as part of the Venture Capital Forum. In this format, quarterly events will be held at which European VCs will pass on their valuable experience to founders and, with the flow of information, hopefully also strengthen the flow of money into the region.
You can learn more and keep an eye on the upcoming events. If conditions permit there will still be one event in September and one in December this year. Learn more here:
Outlook: Already passed half a billion Euros
We are actually very excited about what the rest of the year has in store for us. Looking at the deals that are already published for Q3 so far, our area has surpassed the 500 m Euros in funding already. Just the fundraising of Node Energy (7 m Euros) and Canyon Bicycles (30 m Euros) have pushed the area beyond the threshold. Trivia: investors in Canyon Bicycles include NBA player LeBron James.
Corona Aid Numbers
Adding to all that, we also found the corona aid investments the state of Hessen made with their investment vehicle Hessen Kapital I. The state invested less than 9 mn Euros in companies we would classify as startups in a total of 20 investments. So the average investment was around 440.000 €. Please don’t misunderstand, this surely made a big difference for many companies, but we would have expected an investment north of 10 m Euros at least. Note: The total investments of the vehicle included many more deals and larger total investments, but they did not pass our startup test.
The government invested 2020 5,8 m € and 2,9 m € in 2021 respectively. So the totals are not really changed by the investments. For this post, we will highlight the investments and deals in blue and red, since they are colors also used in the state’s crest.
